Hypocrisy
by carpfish
Summary: Zekrom enters the mortal realm to investigate these curious 'human' creatures, ends up in a police precinct for a night. Reshiram is mandated by Arceus to go fetch her, and does do. Argument ensues. "Why are you so enthralled by these human creatures anyways?" "They hold my Ideals!" "And they shun my Truth!"


**Hypocrisy**

**Fanfiction, Pokemon**

**Oneshot, Zekrom & Reshiram**

**Word count: **2145

**Warning(s): **Human forms, lots of dialogue, implications of adult themes, semi-philosophical debate

Turning to watch the equally bored police officer working at the desk in front of her, the black-haired girl sitting on one of the plastic chairs lined up against the wall gives a small sigh. She looks up to stare at the clock for a moment before raising a hand to subconsciously twirl one of the wavy twin ponytails hanging at the sides of her head, for lack of anything better to do. It's been like this for the past hour or so, ever since she was picked up off the street and deemed lost or homeless due to her lack of identification, any form of currency, and her inability to provide an address. As she scans her surroundings, duly noting this as the seventeenth time she's done so, she firmly decides to herself that she does not like this place. This trip certainly is not turning out as enlightening nor fun as she had imagined.

Fluorescent light bulbs cast a professional, clean glow upon the white vinyl floor of the police precinct. The hands on the cheap plastic clock hanging on the wall point display the time as roughly six minutes past two o' clock in the morning. At this time of the night, things either get noisy or become monotonously quiet around town. Tonight, as it is more often than not, the situation is the latter. As a result of the stagnated silence that permeates the entire office, the constant tick-tick-tick of the clock's second hand suddenly becomes a source of paramount annoyance. The girl curls her hands into fists before relaxing them again for what she estimates is about the twenty-third time that night.

The police officer lifts his mug to his lips to take yet another sip of coffee to get him through this graveyard shift (the girl has lost count how many times he's done that, and she resents this). However, he freezes midway, eyes widening at the sound of the precinct door clicking open. The girl hears this as well, and a crawling sensation tingles across her skin although her body barely dares to move a muscle. She doesn't need to hear the tap of expensive leather shoes on the floor, or see that piercing stares judging her every action (or lack thereof) to know who it is.

The police officer stands and turns to see a tall man with almost shockingly white hair tied back in a wavy ponytail. Asking the stranger if there was something he needs, the officer can almost feel the gaze of the other man going right through him, instead focusing on the girl. In contrast, the teenager practically refuses to look in the man's direction, inclining her entire body in the opposite direction. The middle-aged policeman can't quite guess what's going on, but only that it's a personal matter and he probably shouldn't pry. Wouldn't be the first time that they've had rebellious 'runaway' teenagers in here.

Despite entering barely moments ago, the stranger looks completely at home in the precinct, the white vinyl floor and white plaster walls matching flawlessly with his crisp white suit, and the black-haired girl realises that perhaps this is the reason that her surroundings unnerve her so. The entire precinct is painted in his color. "There you are," he says, more of a command than a statement, and she notes the utter lack of relief in his tone. Neither of them want him to be here. She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, but otherwise refuses to acknowledge him. The white-haired man gives a small huff of exasperation before turning his attentions to the policeman.

Lifting a small suitcase (also white, the girl notes out of the corner of her eye) onto the front desk, he opens it and methodically procures a neatly stashed away ID card. The teenager can't seem to catch sight of what it reads, but it appears to convince the officer. "I'm here to pick up my sister," the taller man announces, casting a glance at said 'sister'. She can't help but bristle slightly at being assigned this title, even if all things considered it's probably the most accurate term that they can afford. Even so, she can't help but internally object to being referred to so intimately. Not only does it trivialize the entire feud between the two of them into a child's matter, it almost implies that she's on friendly terms with him.

All it takes is a hard stare from behind blue-tinted shades, and the policeman is willing to let the two of them leave. It almost makes the girl sick at how effortlessly the man is willing to manipulate and deceive others to achieve his own means. As he follows her out of the precinct (she'd refused to walk side by side with him nor let him lead her), her smaller frame practically bristles with rage.

The moment they're out onto the empty street, she opens her mouth to voice her complaints of him, to ask him why he's here and what he thinks he's doing, but he doesn't give her that chance. Before the first words form on her lips, his strict voice cuts through the air. "Do not mistake my intentions. I am here merely because Arceus has mandated it so. That is the truth of the matter." His words are clipped and firm with conviction, especially as he bites out his pet word, 'truth'. The girl's lips drop into a sneer, and she despite herself, can't help but react impulsively. Whirling around to face him, her eyes flash with rage as she fixes him with a glare so intense that the air around the duo seems to crackle with electricity.

"Then you shouldn't have come," she hisses, not the slightest bit subtle in her hostility towards the man. "What makes you think I would appreciate this assistance from you, brother?" She spits the last word out as if it were something despicable. She tosses her ponytails into the air in a contemptuous motion with a small flick of her wrist and jerk of her head. This lights a spark of anger beneath the light-haired male's cold facade, but he simply shifts his glasses before replying in a controlled tone.

"To reiterate, I was not given a choice but a command, which I am obligated to follow." The man runs his fingers through immaculately combed hair, and gives a small 'tch' of annoyance, as if he were dealing with a particularly annoying child. "Not all of us are so disregarding of order and dictum that we can do things such as running off into the mortal realm on unannounced vacations." His words are spiteful, but he maintains an air of proud calmness.

The girl nearly has to bite her tongue to keep from yelling childish objections at her adversary, but takes a deep breath to compose her counterargument. "I was merely curious and wished to further research human beings, and decided that a first-hand encounter would be the most useful," She states in a tone haughty enough to match up to his. However, she isn't quite finished yet. "Speaking of disregard, isn't it curious that the Champion of Truth himself is so willing to use lies and trickery in order to achieve his own objectives, as displayed mere moments ago on that unfortunate mortal?" It takes more self control than expected to suppress the smirk that tugs on the corner of her lips, satisfied with her verbal snipe.

This accusation hits him like a bolt of lightning, and the effect is instantaneous. Shattered is the cool mask of reason and control, as the man's eyes- now resembling azure infernos- grow wide with shock at his rival's audacity, before narrowing in fury. The spark of anger is stoked into a burning rage, and his entire demeanor changes. "I have done no such thing," he growls, sounding more like a feral beast than the polished gentleman he appeared to be. "I simply did what was necessary in order to fulfill what was required of me."

The girl raises a skeptical eyebrow, delighted at her upper hand. "Oh, so you're saying that there are situations in which the truth can be compromised out of necessity? If it comes from your sacred mouth, then it must be nothing but the absolute truth, no?" She taunts him with a cocky grin, knowing that's she's only adding oil to the flame, but it's just so much fun to see him lose his cool for once and fly into this fiery rage. The road is empty save for the two of them, and besides the feeble light of the street lamps casting small halos of illumination around them, the area is practically pitch black. Breathing in the crisp night air, she can't help but feel so much more confident in this darkness, especially now that they aren't surrounded by his blasted color.

"That is your flawed interpretation of these events," The male responds, his tone sharp and biting. "I don't understand why you're so enthralled by these human creatures anyways? They're faulty, dishonest, selfish creatures. Why would you wish to mingle with them?"

His attack inflames her enough that she doesn't notice his aversion of the topic. The girl grits her teeth and scowls deeply, as if baring her fangs, twisting her young features into a beastly visage. "You're at fault for having such a biased, one-sided view of them! Humans can be as compassionate and noble as they can be selfish and cruel. But more than that, they hold my ideals!" She argues in return, the sounds of their heated debate echoing down the empty street.

"And they shun my truth!" Is the man's lightning-quick response. This answer appears rather unexpected to the teenager, judging by the way her eyes widen and she almost takes a step back from him. "Humans are always denying the truth, twisting it to fit their own needs, and refusing to heed to their own mistakes, no matter how many warnings are there right before them. In my eyes, that will never be anything but cowardice." His hands curl into tight fists, and what truly shocks the girl is the unreadable emotion that flashes over the man's usually stoic features, and she can't tell whether it's pity, sadness, or disappointment.

The girl opens her mouth and closes it, as if she can't think of words to say, but then steels her resolve and speaks once again. "You're wrong about humans. You too close-minded, and insist that your narrow viewpoint is the absolute truth while denying the existence of a bigger picture," She spits out, sharp words rapidly being shot towards him one after another like a machine gun.

When her rival doesn't respond, she decides to finally let loose the killer. Lifting her chin to look him steadily in the eye, her voice is as soft as a whisper this time. "Maybe the true cowardice here is your denial that your Truth may actually be a lie."

There's a moment of hesitation, and the girl thinks that she may have won the argument this time, when the man's voice breaks the silence. "I suppose your idealism is only fitting, isn't it?" He chuckles lowly, and the sight of the humorless smile on his features suddenly sends more chills down her back than any glare could. "I suppose it's up to me to show you how disgusting your beloved monsters are." With these words, he takes a large step towards her. She backs away, feeling uncomfortable with his closeness, only to find a solid brick surface behind her.

"Do you know what a real human man would do if he found a girl like you alone on the street at this hour?" He whispers, and she can feel his breath on her cheek as he cages her against the wall. Her first instinct is to cringe, and her pupils dilate in horror. For a split second, she forgets that she's fully capable of throwing him off of her, and realises exactly what he's talking about.

However, before she can react, the man releases her, and retreats several steps, and brushes his hands off on his white suit with a disgusted expression on his face, as if he'd touched something vile. The girl just stands there, sobered for several moments by the point that he brings up. He doesn't wait for her to come to her senses, and quickly spins on his heel, long ponytail whipping in the air with the force of his rotation.

"I trust you to report back to Arceus on your own, Zekrom." It's that same, indifferently cold tone again. The girl watches the white suit along with its owner disappear into the night. Shaking her head, she looks up towards the murky, starless sky, and frowns, before vanishing as well.

–

a/n: Something I've been working on and off for a while, and finally finished. Thank you to my beta reading volunteers. There are some things that could have been improved, but I just wanted to get this finished. It's been a while since I did a serious piece that was this dialogue-heavy, so I'm not completely satisfied with it, but that's why I need the practice I suppose. Please enjoy, and feedback is geratly appreciated.


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